Dvorák looked to the precedent of Brahms’s Hungarian Dances
when the Berlin publisher Simrock invited the Czech composer
to write a book of Slavonic Dances. Indeed it was the
obvious place to look, something Fritz Simrock had himself suggested
in his invitation. Simrock asked for something ‘light, but not
too light, but brilliant, flashy, with shifting moods and colours’.
Given the huge popularity and near-ubiquity of the orchestrated
versions of both Hungarian and Slavonic Dances,
it’s easy to overlook the fact that both works were originally
written for piano, four-hands.

Orchestration of the piano originals followed soon afterwards,
and it’s in this form that we usually hear the Dances. However
there have always a few recordings of the original piano versions
in the catalogue. Those with longish memories will remember
the (unlikely seeming?) Brendel and Klien Turnabout LP. And
they were followed by the Vlastimil Lejsek and Vera Lejsková
Supraphon LP in the mid 1970s and by the Kontarsky brothers
on DG, amongst others. But even more recently you could choose
between the Labčque sisters on Philips, the Noke-Krizos duo
on Hyperion and Christian Kohnno and Silke-Thora Matthies on
Naxos. A really fine addition to the discography, and a particular
favourite of mine, came from the Prague Piano Duo on Praga 250151
– highly recommended for its vitality.

Amongst these duos the Arco Diva pairing of Kristina Krkavcová
and Martin Kasík impresses. They offer resilient rhythms and
charm. This is especially so in the second of the Op.46 set
with a charmingly played coda. There’s plenty of clarity in
the Poco allegro [No.3] of the same set, and fine ensemble.
The vitality and measured ebullience of No.5 is palpable, and
they find a just balance between extroversion and more reflective
intimacies in the first of the Op.72 set. This is a recurring
quality, one that also reappears in the fourth of the later
set – amidst the grazioso there is also time to pause.
The Presto [No.15 – the seventh of Op.72] has delightful animation.

Nicely recorded, these performances are both enjoyable and sympathetic.
If I marginally prefer the Prague duo on Praga, I should add
that you won’t go far wrong with this Arco Diva.

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